I can now say I have been to Europe! I got my passport stamped for the first time since 2012. Munich, Germany is so many things: torch of Bavarian culture and pride, a green and clean city, the host to many Nazi atrocities, a current international terminal that welcomes tourists generously. Palaces, royalty and fairy tales seem real and present here. The population also organizes to protest the brutalities of foreign dictators and gives platforms to activists who wish to ban all cars from the city center.
And of course, there is Octoberfest, which isn’t what old school Bavarians call it in the first place. It’s a wedding celebration that has been going on for more than two centuries. You’re encouraged to drink a lot but not get drunk, to dance on wooden table tops, to spread sauce on bread and live on what feels like exclusively grains.
Ich liebe dich, München!
Laura Eppinger 